A Stranger's Eyes
by LinVolturi
Summary: After the death of her husband, Amy McCoy finds herself at the center of Jackson Rippner's new assignment. Jackson/OC Rated T for language. Set before the Red Eye movie.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note/Disclaimer:** _Hi everyone! This is just a story idea that happened to pop into my head. I'm mostly playing around with this idea but if you like it please leave me a review. I am an amateur writer and am still learning so if you notice any mistakes grammar, spelling wise, please feel free to point them out. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Please note my stories do tend to either move a bit fast or a bit slow. I do not own any characters in Red Eye nor am I making any money on writing this story. **This story is set before the movie Red Eye**. I only own my OCs. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy my story.-Lin_

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**Summery**: After the death of her husband, Amy McCoy finds herself at the center of Jackson Rippner's new assignment. Jackson/OC Rated T for language, maybe eventually be rated M.

...

**Chapter 1**

I made my way through the dirty ally down the deep dark street. The rain was pouring down, making the scene perfect for this somewhat grim meeting. I made my way up to the man wearing a midnight colored trench coat.

"What do you have for me this time?" I asked my boss.

"There's a file we need to perform an operation a client has requested. Our guys tell us, recently killed Sergeant Matthew McCoy, doubled as a spy for the government. He was serving in Iraq when he was killed. He had access to a lot of government files and secrets, including the file we need. His partner, Sergeant Angus Brown, now has access to these files. He is currently in Iraq." My boss, a man who called himself, Rip, informed me.

"What do I need to do?" I inquired. Rip pulled out a picture of a woman and handed it to me. She had light brown hair and matching brown eyes.

"Her name is Amy McCoy, Sergeant McCoy's wife, Sergeant Brown's sister. She's the key to getting that file."

"How so?"

"I want you to get her to like you, to trust you, hell you could seduce her for all I care. All that matters is she trusts you enough that by the time Sergeant Brown returns from Iraq you she inadvertently lets you use her to get to her brother and get that file. All the details are in here." Rip said handing me an envelope.

"How much longer is Sergeant Brown going to be in Iraq?" I asked, wondering how long this mission was going to take.

"10 months."

"This is a longer one."

"We want you to be constant in her life a while before her brother comes home. She's grieving, vulnerable, gullible and, from what our guy we originally had watching her her tells us, aloof. She shouldn't be hard to draw in."

"Why don't you keep your other guy on her then?"

"He freaked her out and she called the cops on him. He's sitting in a jail cell; he was too obvious with her. You're skilled enough you won't be. Just use that devilish charm of yours, you'll do fine." Rip answered. I nodded. I looked back down at her picture; this was going to be a fun assignment.

…..

I've been watching Amy for a couple of weeks now. She had a dull life, every morning she'd wake up, get ready for the day, then go to a small diner on her street before heading to work. She worked at dry cleaner from 9-5 then she would go grocery shopping if she needed to, go home and end the day by crying. She was pathetic but she had just lost her husband. She couldn't be more than 25; she was a young widow which had to have something to do with her pitiful life.

After two weeks, I figured it was time to meet the widowed Mrs. McCoy. I had to make it memorable for her; I had to make sure she would never forget her first encounter with Jackson Rippner.

The morning was as dull as ever for Mrs. Amy McCoy. The only thing that changed was she didn't stop by the diner for breakfast. The opportune moment arrived during her lunch break. I watched her as she walked through the busy streets, she stopped by a taco stand picked up a couple of tacos and made her way back to work. This was it…time to make it happen.

I made my way towards her; she wasn't pay attention to where she was going. Her mind was obviously elsewhere as I purposely collided into her, her taco smearing all over my white business shirt.

…

Amy's P.O.V

'_Come on Amy, you have to get up now._' I thought to myself as I lay in my bed. After a couple more minutes of lying there I pulled myself up from the bed. The morning sickness hit me as I sat up. I sat there for a couple of minutes giving my stomach a minute to calm down. Once I felt slightly better I got up, showered, dressed and was out the door. The smell coming from the diner brought back the morning sickness so I skipped breakfast and made my way to the building I worked in.

I had been working in the dry cleaning business since I was 16. It was family business my grandmother started. She was a strict boss but she still managed to make work entertaining. The morning was fairly normal with a few customers either picking or and dropping off their clothes. When I wasn't taking care of clothes I was helping customers.

Around 11:50 I left the dry cleaners for my lunch break. The street was fairly crowded as I made way down to a little taco stand. I still felt queasy from the morning sickness but knew I needed to eat something for my child. After grabbing a couple of tacos I started back towards the dry cleaners.

'_Damn it, Matthew._' I thought to myself, _'I wish you were here.'_

I unwrapped my taco and started to slowly eat it when I felt myself crash into someone.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." I apologized before I looked up to see a man. He had dark brown hair and light blue eyes.

"No problem, I wasn't paying attention either." He replied looking down at his shirt. My eyes widened when I saw the huge stain on his white shirt.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Please let me clean that for you." I stated looking at the stain.

'_My god, I'm such an air head._' I thought to myself as I handed the man a couple of napkins I had managed to grab from the taco stand.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure it'll come out with a little bleach." The man suggested looking up from his shirt. His eyes met mine; they seemed cold, yet inviting.

"Please, I work at a dry cleaners, I'll have that shirt cleaned and good as new. I'll do it for free and I'll even give you another shirt." I offered again. I felt horrible about this. He thought a moment.

"Alright; are you on your way there now?" he asked. I nodded. "I'll walk with you."

"Ok, this way." I nodded towards the direction of the cleaners. We walked in silence for a few moments.

"Are you alright? You seem distracted." The man asked. I looked over at him to see he was watching me a bit intently.

"Yeah, I'm fine. My mind is just elsewhere today." I explained as I gave him a small smile. He nodded, returning the smile before looking where we were going.

"Do you do this often?" he asked trying to make conversation.

"Do what often?" I inquired.

"Run into people?"

"No, not at all; I'm just really distracted… my husband died recently so…" I said, my voice cracking a bit.

"Oh I'm sorry." He said apologetically.

"Thanks, it's been a hard two months. Oh we're here." I told him, pointing towards the building I worked in. He nodded, following me inside.

"Here's where we keep our abandoned stash. Take your pick." I said showing him the rack of abandoned clothes. He looked through the shirts pulling a couple out to get a better look at them.

"I can see why they were abandoned. These are horrible." He joked giving me another smile.

"There are some interesting ones." I laughed a bit, as he held up a vomit colored green and yellow shirt. After couple of minutes he pulled out a light blue shirt and walked over to the bathroom to change. A few more minutes and the dark haired, blue eyed man emerged.

"Here you go." He said handing me his stained shirt.

"Thank you." I replied taking it. "I'll have this ready for you by the end of the week."

"Sounds great; my name is Jackson, by-the-way." Jackson introduced himself extending his hand for mine.

"Amy." I responded shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you Amy."

"Likewise." I said. Jackson went to say something else when we heard my grandmother call my name. "I need to get back to work. I'll see you at the end of the week?"

"See you then." he told me, before saying goodbye and walking out of the building.

"Amy, dear, who was that?" my grandmother asked as she emerged from the back.

"Oh, just a guy I ran into at lunch. I got taco sauce all over his white shirt so I offered to clean it for him." I explained to her.

"I see, watch out for him. He's the devil."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note**: Thanks to Jomac for reviewing and to those following my story. I hope you will continue to enjoy my story. I tend not to notice my mistakes until I've publish the chapter, so I will be fixing some things in chapter 1. I apologize for those mistakes and promise I will fix them as I notice them. Please review if you like the chapter. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thanks for reading my story!-Lin_

**Chapter 2**

Jackson's P.O.V

I watched Amy the rest of the day. Nothing too eventful happened, she was boring to watch but this was part of my job.

When the morning came I settled down in one of the booths at the diner, Amy usually ate her breakfast in. She had skipped breakfast the previous day but with a bit of luck she would return to her normal routine.

I had just ordered a coffee and some food when Amy walked into the diner, she looked distracted as ever but it didn't take her too long to notice me. I plastered a charming smile on my face as she greeted me.

Amy's P.O.V

The diner was busier than usual when I walked in. I was feeling a bit better but the morning sickness still threatened me. I scanned the diner for a spot to sit when my eyes fell upon a familiar face.

"Oh hi, Jackson right?" I greeted the man I had plunged into the day before. His eyes met mine as a smile formed on his lips.

"Hi. That's right." He said.

"How are you today?" I asked him.

"Alright. You're not here to ruin another one of my shirts, are you?" he questioned in all seriousness.

"No." I answered. "I really am sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it, I'm just giving you a hard time." He smirked letting me know it was a joke. I smiled and nodded before looking through the diner again. I had never seen it this busy before, there wasn't any place to sit.

"Would you like to join me?" Jackson offered, gesturing to the seat in front of him.

"Umm… sure." I answered, realizing there really wasn't another option.

"Here's your coffee."Maddie, the waitress, said setting down a cup of coffee in front of the man across from me. "The rest of your order will be out shortly."

"Thank you, miss." Jackson thanked her before she turned to me.

"Would you like your usual, Mrs. McCoy?" she asked.

"No thank you Maddie. I'll just have a sprite." I told her. Sprite seemed to be the main thing that helped me feel a bit better.

"Ok." She happily said before walking off.

"Are you sure you don't want anything else? That's not much of a breakfast." Jackson inquired.

"Huh? Yeah I'm sure. I'm not feeling up for breakfast this morning." I explained. I didn't really want to tell him I was pregnant. I had just met him after all and it really wasn't any of his business. Besides the second he found out that I'm pregnant he would leave. I didn't expect him to hang around for long.

"So are you new to L.A?" I asked him trying to divert the conversation from me to him.

"I am. I'm here on business." He answered. "What about you? How long have you been here?"

"I've been in L.A my whole life." I answered, my plan didn't work that well.

"So you're a native."

"Yep. How long will you be in L.A for?"

"Depends on how things go with my job."

"I see." I responded just as Maddie brought my sprite and Jackson's food.

"Here you go, you two. Enjoy." She chirped. Jackson and I thanked her before she walked away.

"Are you sure you don't want anything else?" he asked.

"I'm sure. I've never been much of a breakfast person." I answered. I sipped on my sprite quietly as Jackson started on his food. The smell of his food was starting to get to me when he started up another conversation.

"You mentioned yesterday that your husband recently passed away. Was it unexpected?" he asked me. I was surprised; it wasn't a question I expected a complete stranger to ask. There was no way I could be making a good impression on him, especially after yesterday. Besides, like all men, the second he found out I was pregnant he would probably disappear.

"Yes and no." I answered.

"How is that?" he questioned.

"Well, I don't think anyone ever really expects the person they want to spend their life with to die so young. On the other hand, as an army wife I knew going into the marriage this could happen."

"How did it happen?"

"He was with his unit over in Iraq. They were bombed and he was one of the ones who didn't make it."

"I'm sorry."

I nodded to him, thanking him. He was the first person who I had actually talked about this with. My grandmother was a bit of a shrew who thought all men, with the exception of my brother, were evil. The times I would try to talk to her about this, she would brush it off. My sister-in-law was too busy worrying about Angus to really care what was going on in my life. I hadn't been much of a social person since my husband left so I didn't really have friend to turn to. Jeez I must be desperate if I was talking to a complete stranger about my problems.

"How long had you two been married?" Jackson questioned bringing me back out of my thoughts.

"Six years."

"Six years? That's longer than I expected."

"Yeah, we got married really young. Probably too young now that I look back on it but we had a lot of fun in our marriage."

"You really loved him?"

"I did, I still do but…" My voice cracked a bit and I trailed off. My emotions were getting the better of me and I didn't want to cry or make a scene. I looked down at my watch before I realized I needed to get to work.

"I need to get going. Thanks for the company. I'll see you in a few days when you come pick up your shirt?" I asked him standing up. He looked a bit surprised by my actions but nodded.

"I'll see you then." He answered. I quickly paid for my sprite left a tip for Maddie and was on my way to work.

…..

Jackson's P.O.V

'_I hit a sensitive subject.'_ I thought to myself as Amy quickly left.

"Poor Mrs. McCoy." The waitress commented as she refilled my coffee. "She was alright the first few days after her husband left. Since her husband's death she just hasn't been the same."

"You mean she wasn't always like this? She seems distant." I questioned wondering what I could learn about Amy.

"She was quite the opposite actually. She used to be so full of life and happiness. She and her husband would always go out of their way to make people smile and laugh. They would come here every morning for breakfast. They always looked so happy together. She was such a fun person but now she's so gloomy day-after-day." The waitress replied. "Such a pity."

I quickly paid and followed Mrs. McCoy; I had her boring routine memorized so she wouldn't get too far.

'_Her husband's death must have had a great impact on her if her personality completely changed. She was probably one of those women who relied completely on her husband. Or maybe something else happened to her after he left?' _I thought to myself. No matter what her reason was, I was going to find out.

….

A few days passed and it was time to pick up my shirt at Amy's dry cleaning shop. I hadn't run into Amy in the last few days. She went about her normal life but I was going try to change it up a bit. I walked into the building to see no one was at the front. I rang the little bell hoping Amy would show up quickly. I knew she was here, I had seen her come in earlier.

After a few minutes an old lady, probably in her 80s, walked up to the counter.

"How can I help you?" she sneered at me a bit. She was giving me a twisted look, her eyes telling me she didn't want me here.

"Yes, I'm looking for Amy." I answered hoping she would just get Amy.

"Amy," the old lady called out "someone's asking for you."

Within a few minutes Amy emerged from the back.

"What was that grandma?" she asked before she noticed me. "Oh hi, give me one minute and I'll grab your shirt." She went back to the back before she returned with my shirt.

"I'm going to get back to work, are you alright here Amy?" Amy's grandmother asked eying me suspiciously.

"I'm fine. I'll be back there in a minute." Amy answered before her grandmother finally disappeared.

"I don't think you're grandmother likes me very much." I started the conversation.

"Don't mind her; she thinks all men are evil." She smiled as she handed me the shirt. "Here you go; the stain came right out, just as I promised."

"Thank you. It looks great." I complimented her waiting for the moment to be right.

"Not at all, it's the least I could do."

A couple of minutes of silence passed before I decided to just dive into it. Chances are she'd say no but it was worth a shot and if this didn't work, I had several other ideas in mind.

"I'm sorry about the diner the other day. I should have been more sensitive towards your loss." I apologized, catching her off guard.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"The way you left the other day. I thought I had offended you."

"No not at all. I just needed to get to work." She explained.

"So it had nothing to do with me?" I asked her. She shook her head.

"Amy, I need you to get started on these dresses." We heard Amy's grandmother call from the back.

"Be right there Grandma." She called back before looking back to me. "I need to get back to work."

"Alright, I understand." I told her.

"It was nice to meet you. Maybe we'll see each other again." She said trying to end the conversation.

"Well, why don't we go out for a drink later? I'll buy." I asked her. She seemed really surprised by my offer. I'm sure it seemed strange to her. A man asking her out knowing her husband had recently died. I knew she was going to say no but I also knew we would be seeing each other again shortly.

"Thanks for the offer but I'm not much of a drinker and my husband just passed away. So I think I'm going to skip out." She answered.

"Well if you don't want a drink, how about dinner?"

"You're sweet but I think I'll pass for now, maybe some other time?" she suggested. I nodded. I was getting somewhere with her and that was all that mattered at this point.

"Can I call you sometime?" I asked, I didn't know if she'd give me her number or not. Either way it didn't matter.

"Umm, sure." she said, grabbed a pencil and paper. After a few seconds she handed me the paper with a number on it. Now the question was, was she giving me her actual number or a fake one. I chatted with her a bit as I dialed the number in my phone. After a couple more seconds her phone started to ring.

"Excuse me." she said as she took her phone out of her pocket. She looked at the number for a second before answering it.

"Hello?" she asked into the phone. I lifted my phone to my ear to reply.

"Hi." I answered. She looked to me surprised and laughed softly before putting down the phone.

"You got me." she said.

"Well now you have my number. Call me if you change your mind." I suggested putting my phone back in my pocket.

"Ok."

"Amy, you need to get back to work." Amy's grandmother called to the back.

"I better get back there." Amy told me. I nodded.

"It was nice seeing you again." I said shaking her hand.

"You too." she replied.

"Amy!" her grandmother shouted.

"I'll call you." I told her.

"Ok, talk to you later."

After that we said our goodbyes I left the little dry cleaning shop. She was falling into my trap nicely.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: ** _Thanks to trudes193 and ShatteredMirrorReflection for reviewing and to the rest of you for reading my story. I hope you will enjoy this next chapter. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Please review if you like the chapter. Thanks again everyone!-Lin_

...

**Amy's P.O.V**

After Jackson left I made my way in towards the back to get started on the dresses that were next in line.

"So what did the devil want?" my grandmother asked as I pulled out a dress.

"He's not the devil, grandma. He just stopped by for his shirt. I doubt we'll see him again." I told her.

"Then why was he asking you out and for your number?" she stressed.

"Grandma were you eves dropping?" I asked her, putting a hand on my hip.

"It's my shop; I can be where ever I want and if I happen to overhear some things that's my business." She justified. I rolled my eyes and smiled a bit as I laid out the dress.

"I think he feels sorry for me and is trying to be nice. Nothing will come of it, I'm pretty sure of that." I stated to her before going back to work.

...

A couple of weeks passed since I last saw Jackson. He had texted me a couple of times but nothing too big.

"I'll see you tomorrow grandma." I called to the back when I heard the door open. Normally this would only be my lunch break but I had a prenatal appointment with my doctor at 3:30, so I figured I would just take the rest of the day off.

'_I'll take care of this before I go.'_ I thought to myself looking to the door to see Jackson.

"Hi." I greeted him as he walked up to me. He was holding a couple of suits as he smiled and approached me.

"Hey. You did such a great job with my shirt I thought I'd bring these by." He told me nodding over to the suits.

"Sure." I answered as he handed me the suits. I looked them over for a minute before grabbing a form. "What's your last name?" I asked as I started to write his first name in the top box.

"Rippner." He replied. I paused a moment as _ Jack the Ripper_ popped into my head.

'_Well that was rude of his parents.'_ I thought to myself as I filled out the boxes. I didn't want to bring that up with him. I'm sure he had heard several comments or jokes about his name; I didn't need to make any.

"Give me a week and I'll have these ready for you." I informed him smiling.

"Thanks. Are you about to head out for lunch?" he asked eying the purse I had on my arm.

"I am, actually." I relied putting the suits on the rack behind me.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Oh…ummm."

"As a friend of course." He quickly added. I thought a moment before nodding.

"Sure." I agreed. I figured it couldn't hurt anything. Jackson opened the door for me as we left my grandma's little dry cleaning shop. We decided to have lunch at a little sandwich shop the next block over. I was 12 weeks pregnant and my morning sickness had decided to evaporate so I felt a bit better.

"You know I think you're the first person, who hasn't made a _Jack the Ripper_ comment after finding out my last name." he stated, starting the conversation after a few minutes of silence

"I figured you had heard enough comments or jokes about it. I figured you'd rather I didn't, still that was kind of mean of your parents." I gave him a half smile.

"Yes it was mean of them." He said as we arrived at our destination.

"If it's any consolation, my brother's name is Angus."

"Angus is interesting. I think your parents gave you the kinder name."

"Yes they did." I answered as we made it to our destination.

"So how are you doing?" Jackson asked me after we had been shown to our table and ordered our food.

"I'm ok. How about you?" I asked.

"I'm fine. How's work?"

"Work is work. There's not too much going on." I said. He nodded.

"So did you always want to work in a dry cleaning shop?" he inquired.

"Not at all, actually I'm supposed to be in school right now, finishing my bachelor's degree."

"So why aren't you?"

"School started the week after my husband died, then the lady my grandmother hired to help her quit so she needed my help. I don't think I could have concentrated that much this semester anyway. I'll go back when I'm able to."

"That makes sense. What were you going to study?"

"Paralegal studies, actually."

"Oh, sounds interesting."

"It is, for me at least." I told him as the waitress came with our sandwiches. He nodded towards me. After thanking the waitress we started on our food.

"So how did you meet your husband; if you don't mind my asking." He questioned. I paused for a moment.

"No, it's fine. They're happy memories, well most of them. Matthew moved here when he was 16, I was 15. He met my brother at school; they were pretty much best friends from that point on. I met Matthew when my brother brought him home to play video games one day." I answered.

"Was it love at first sight?"

"No, not at all. I didn't like him at all actually. I thought he was such a dork."

"How so?"

"Well, he was my brother's friend to start with." I joked a bit. Jackson let out a small laugh.

"Are you close to your brother?" he asked.

"I wasn't then but I am now. Our dad died about 5 years ago in a car accident, he was a police officer. Mom died last year of breast cancer so, besides our grandma and his daughter, we're the only blood relatives we have."

"You've seen a lot of death?"

"I've buried 6 people in the last 5 years; my parents, three of my grandparents and my husband."

"That must be hard."

"It has been but there's not really anything I can do about it. I just have to keep living, you know."

"Yeah." Jackson answered. We continued to talk for a while. Why was he being so nice to me? I mean, I'm sure he felt sorry for me but that didn't explain why he had any interest in my life. We continued to talk a while before I looked up to the clock and decided I needed to get going. I needed to go back to my apartment before my doctor's appointment and being my first prenatal I didn't want to be late.

"What time do you need to be back at work?" Jackson asked, noticing my action.

"I'm through with work for today. I have a doctor's appointment I need to get to though." I answered getting out my wallet.

"Doctor's appointment? Are you feeling alright?" he inquired. Damn, why did I tell him that?

"Yeah, I'm fine; just a checkup." I answered, hoping he would drop it. He nodded.

"Do you need a ride? I do have a car." He offered.

"No thanks, I'll be fine." I answered. I liked him but there was no way I was going to get into a car with a guy I didn't know very well.

"I'll see you later then?" he asked.

"Of course; you have those suits to pick up after all." I smiled.

"I meant besides that but yeah. I'll call you."

"Ok. Talk to you later." I told him. After saying our goodbyes and I had paid for sandwich I made my way home.

**Jackson's P.O.V**

'_I wonder what her doctor's appointment if for?'_ I thought to myself as I paid for my food. I followed her home and then to her doctor's appointment. I wasn't going to complain at least it was different from her usual routine. She was in there a couple of hours before she came out. She gently placed something in her purse before heading back home.

Amy had something on her mind; she was even more aloof than ever. I couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking about.

**Amy's P.O.V**

It was amazing seeing my baby for the first time and being able to hear the heartbeat. I didn't think I would be getting an ultrasound today so that was a nice surprise. I placed the sonograms in my purse before heading home. For the first time I felt somewhat excited about the pregnancy. Don't get me wrong, I wanted my baby. Things being the way they were however made it a bit hard to be excited.

'_What if it's not his?_' I thought to myself as I made my way home. _'It is his, it has to be.' _

My thoughts wondered to Jackson too. I knew I needed to tell him I was pregnant. I couldn't continue to lead him on especially now that I was this far into the pregnancy. I knew he felt sorry for me and that was most likely the reason he was being so nice. I was happy to call him my friend but he wouldn't stay around after he found out about the baby. I was a 24 year old pregnant widow, after all, who would want to be around that drama?

**Jackson's P.O.V**

Once Amy made it home she stayed there. She started to put things into boxes; I'm sure packing her husband's things up, probably for charity or something like that. She wasn't the kind of person to just throw something away. She could also be putting things in storage but either way it didn't matter. It was different than usual, normally she was crying by now.

Deciding she wasn't going anywhere I decided to go to the coffee shop across the street from her. I could still watch her and enjoy a drink. I was surprised when she grabbed her coat and made her way out of her apartment. I watched her a minute before realizing she was coming over to the shop, probably for dinner. I watched her a moment, wondering if she would notice me.

After a few minutes her eyes met mine. I smiled and waved at her. She returned the wave and made her way over to me.

"Hi. I seem to be running into you everywhere. You must live close by." She commented as she approached me.

"I have an apartment just down the block." I told her. I was never there but it was true. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"A wine cooler does sound good but I better pass." She confessed. I didn't understand her reasoning, did she think I was going to get her drunk and seduce her or something?

"A sprite then?" I offered, remembering back to that morning in the diner.

"Ok." She agreed sitting next to me.

"How did your doctor's appointment go?" I asked her once her sprite was ordered.

"It was fine. I'm healthy and it was kind of fun." She said. I don't think I had ever heard someone say a doctor's appointment was fun before.

"What was it for? If it's alright for me to ask." I questioned, hoping I wasn't setting myself up for something.

"It's fine. It's probably time to start telling people." She commented a bit nervously.

"Tell people what?" I inquired.

"I'm pregnant." She hesitated a bit.

That piece of information wasn't in the file Rip had given me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:**_ Thanks to trudes193 and Jomac, I appreciate it and hope you will continue to enjoy my story. Thanks to those following my story as well. It makes my day! :D Please review if you enjoy chapter 4. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thanks again!-Lin _

...

**Jackson's P.O.V (continued)**

"Now I know why you didn't want to order that wine cooler." I said. She nodded; I also knew why she had been nervous. The poor girl was 24, widowed and pregnant, her life couldn't be easy. However, I had other things to worry about. How would her pregnancy affect my assignment? If nothing else I would have to change my game plan.

"How far along are you?" I asked her. I needed all the information I could get for the next time I talked to Rip. Chances were he would want me to continue to pursue her and I couldn't afford to lose whatever credibility I had with her.

"12 weeks." She admitted. I nodded while thinking a moment.

"12 weeks? So it's too soon to know what gender the baby is?"

"Yeah it'll be another 8 weeks until I go in to find out."

"When are you due then; sometime in October?" I asked doing the calculations in my head.

"October 18."

"What did your husband say when you told him?" I questioned trying to keep the conversation going.

"I didn't have a chance to tell him. A few hours after I got the positive pregnancy test, a man in uniform showed up at my apartment and told me my husband had been killed." She confessed. Damn this girl had the worse luck. No wonder she was so distant, she had so many things to think and worry about. She didn't even know the danger she could be in, from my boss and clients if I didn't get that file.

"I'm sorry." I said not really knowing what to say. She nodded as she sipped her sprite. This did explain a lot. The morning in the diner when she only ordered a sprite, it must have helped with the morning sickness.

"I just want to thank you for being so nice to me and for treating me decently. I will however, understand if you don't want to be around me anymore." She calmly stated. I was a bit surprised by her words.

"Why would I do that?" I questioned, wanting to know what she was thinking.

"I know this situation isn't exactly ideal. I may be naïve but I'm not naïve enough to think anyone would want to include this kind of drama in their lives." Amy answered. She wasn't as aloof as I had originally thought; she seemed to be a logical thinker.

"I may not have been expecting this but it doesn't mean we can't be friends." I suggested.

She looked surprised at my words but she nodded.

"That's true; just understand I won't hold it against you if that is what you choose to do." Amy was peculiar but at least she was honest. She didn't expect anything of me and she seemed pretty convinced I wasn't going to continue to pursue her. Of course that depended on what Rip decided. I needed to talk to him and soon. This information could be vital to the assignment and if she had any good luck, Rip would have me leave her alone.

"So what do you think your husband would say if he had known?" I asked her trying to get a better feel for her and her husband.

"Well he had wanted to start trying for a baby a couple of years ago. I wanted to finish my education first so we put it off. This pregnancy wasn't exactly planned. He would be so ecstatic though. I can see him calling everyone he knows just to tell them. I can see him calling people he didn't know just to tell them actually. " Amy smiled.

"He sounds like an outgoing person."

We talked a couple of hours before I walked Amy home. Considering she lived across the street from where we were it didn't take too long. Once Amy was back in her apartment and I knew she wasn't going anywhere for the rest of the night. I made the phone call; the sooner I talked to Rip about this the better.

"Hey it's Rip." I heard the man answer.

"Rip, its Jackson…" I started.

"Jackson, how are things going with Mrs. McCoy? Is she falling for you yet?"

"Not exactly, I don't think she's that interested. However, she told me something you didn't have included in her file."

"And what's that?"

"She's pregnant." I answered. There was a long silence pause. "What do you want me to do?"

"Keep doing what you're doing. This doesn't change anything; in fact this just means she and Sergeant Brown have more to lose. If all else fails I'll put a hit man on Mrs. McCoy and her child; her brother would do anything to protect her." Rip lamented.

"Why don't we just leave her alone and go after Sergeant Brown's wife? Surely he would do anything to protect his wife." I suggested.

"Yes but his sister is more vulnerable, she's the best target. Mrs. McCoy needs a friend in the worst way right now and you're going to be that friend."

…..

**Amy's P.O.V**

'_Well, I'm never seeing him again._' I thought to myself as I closed the door behind me. It was nice of him to walk me home but not necessary. He was at least kind enough to not just walk away from me when I told him. Still this wasn't his responsibility, it was mine. There was no way he was going to stay around; no man would.

I made my way through my small two bedroom apartment to the second bedroom, Matthew had used as an office. I didn't want to go through his things but I needed to start getting the room ready for the baby. With all of the stuff Matthew had acquired, it would probably take the rest of the eight weeks before my next ultrasound to get the room cleaned out.

The next day was fairly normal, nothing too eventful happened. Deciding some pasta sounded good for dinner, I placed a pot under the kitchen faucet and turned the water on only to have water spray all over me. I shrieked in surprise before turning the water off.

"Damn its broken again." I commented to myself, before looking down at my soaked shirt. I went to get a different shirt from my bedroom when I heard a knock on my door._ 'That's weird. I wasn't expecting anyone.'_ I thought to myself as I walked up to the door. I was surprised to see Jackson standing in front of me holding a grocery bag.

"Hi." I said a bit confused as he flashed me one of his smiles.

"Hey I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by. I brought some pickles and ice cream." He said trying to tempt me. I laughed a bit and smiled.

"You do know that when you take a shower you take your clothes off right?" he asked me now eying my very soaked shirt.

"Yes. I went to fill a pot with some water so I could make some pasta and the faucet sprayed me. The thing keeps breaking on me." I answered.

"Do you need a handyman?" He asked.

"Are you a plumber?"

"No, not at all; if it's something basic though I can probably help." He offered. I thought a moment. Why was he being so nice? It didn't make any sense.

"You really don't have to do that."

"Do what? Fix your sink?" he questioned, giving me an interested look.

"You don't have to do that either but I meant you don't have to be so nice. It's getting hard to say no to you." I told him letting him into the apartment. He smiled and handed me the ice cream and pickles.

"This way." I said, leading him towards the kitchen.

"You have a nice place." He complimented as he looked at the pictures I had on the wall. I thanked him and put the ice cream in the fridge. He walked over to the sink, examining it.

"I'll be right back; I'm going to change my shirt." I told him as I started to walk out of the kitchen.

"Take your time."

After I finished changing I walked back to the kitchen.

"The pipe just has a small leak. I'll pick up the part you need tomorrow and fix it then." Jackson diagnosed.

"Thank you. I really appreciate it." I thanked him.

"No problem. It's pretty easy to take care of." He told me.

"Can I interest you in some of that ice cream you brought by?" I suggested after a few minutes of silence.

"Sure." He smirked.

We sat on the couch as we ate our ice cream.

"So how old were you when you got married? You said you were young." Jackson started the conversation.

"You'll think I'm crazy if I tell you that." I admitted.

"Why?"

"Well, when I said young I meant really young. We got engaged while I was still in high school. I turned eighteen, two weeks before the wedding and we got married the day after I graduated from high school."

"Wow, you were young."

"Yeah, we had so many reasons not to get married but Matthew had been in the army two years. He had his own apartment and he was being deployed to Iraq so we got married."

"So this was his second time to Iraq?"

"Yep."

"So how did he win you over? At one point I think you told me he was a dork, how did that change?" he questioned.

"Why are you so interested in Matthew?" I asked him. He didn't make any sense to me. Why was he here? Why did he care so much?

"Honestly I'm more interested in you." He answered. That's not something I expected him to say.

"Excuse me?"

"Ah, I just made this awkward." He said as nervously laughed.

"Just a little." I answered sat in silence for a few minutes.

"He was cute, funny, charming." I said, deciding to answer his question.

"What?" he asked.

"You asked me how he won me over. He was cute, funny and charming. Kind of like you."

"Like me?" he asked with a smirk. I nodded.

"Just a bit, I use to think he was a dork. I've never thought of you as a dork. " I responded just as my phone started to ring.

"That must be in my favor then." He stated as I picked it up and looked at the number.

"Great." I sighed.

"What is it?" he inquired when he noticed my reaction.

"It's my sister-in-law." I answered. "She probably just wants free babysitting. I should take this though."

"Ok, I'll go now. I'll stop by tomorrow and finish fixing that faucet for you."

"Ok, thank you. I'll make you dinner." I told him before answering the phone. "Hey Angie, can you old on for a second?" I asked into the device before turning back to Jackson.

"Are you sure? I don't want to bother you." He said.

"I'm sure, it's the least I could do." I commented.

"Alright; see you tomorrow night, then."

"Ok, thanks for the ice cream and pickles."

"You're welcome." He said as gave me a smile, wink and left. I really didn't understand this guy, he was starting to make me feel the same way Matthew use to. He was so nice and very cute. Still, he wasn't Matthew, I wasn't his wife and he wasn't the father of my baby. I couldn't let myself get carried away with this little crush I was developing. I loved my husband and Jackson was just a really good friend who felt sorry for me and wanted to help.

"Amy, are you there?" I heard a woman's voice say from my phone. I snapped out of my thoughts.

"Yes Angie I'm here." I replied.

"Is there a man at your apartment?"

…

**Jackson's P.O.V**

Once I had myself settled where I could watch Amy, I pulled out the photo album I had managed to sneak into my pocket while she was changing. I wanted to know everything about her and the file Rip had given me seemed to have a few holes in it. Why would she get married right after high school at the age of 18 to a man she considered to be a dork? It didn't make any sense.

I felt bad for Amy, she had so much shit going on and she had no idea my being here could only make things worse for her. She had no idea her husband had been a spy. She really thought he had just been a Sergeant in the army.

I opened the album to see Amy and her husband. I flipped through a few of their pictures, realizing I had picked up their wedding album. Amy looked pretty and very happy. She was right, her husband was a dork but still she looked happy to be with him.

I looked back up to Amy's window while she talked on the phone. It was weird making moves on a pregnant woman; I couldn't say I had ever befriended a pregnant woman on purpose before. If I had, had my way I'd just leave her alone; she had enough shit to deal with. I liked her and I was making progress with her. That's all that really mattered. As long as I didn't slip up and say something stupid again, she would be mine until after her brother came back. Then if everything ran smoothly, my employer had the file he needed and she still had no idea what I was really doing here, I could leave her and her child in peace. If things didn't run smoothly, they would both be killed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: **_Thanks so much to those to reviewed the last chapter! I really appreciate you taking the time to review. I'm so sorry for the long delay. I will be updating much more frequently now. Here is chapter 5, things kind of speed up a bit towards the end. Since it took so long to update I made this chapter extra long. I hope you all enjoy! Please review if you enjoy the chapter. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thanks!-Lin_**  
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**...  
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**Jackson's P.O.V**

The next morning I was sitting in the diner waiting for Amy to appear when the waitress stopped by my table to refill my coffee.

"So, you and Mrs. McCoy seem to like each other." The woman said. It was the same girl who had been our waitress the day Amy had left suddenly back when she was still had the morning sickness.

"She's a nice lady." I commented as I took a sip of the coffee. Amy should be here any minute and I didn't want any distractions for either of us.

"You're right she is a nice lady. Just a word of advice the key to Mrs. McCoy's heart is dancing." The waitress told me.

"May I ask how you know that?" I questioned. If this waitress knew Amy well, her information could be helpful.

"About a year ago Mr. McCoy told me and a few friends how he managed to win Mrs. McCoy over through dance. They also used to go dancing at least once a week, Friday nights, I think." The woman informed me. "You should ask her to go dancing. You two would be cute together."

I thanked the waitress before she walked away. I found it a bit amusing that she was trying to help me gain Amy's affection. I thought for a moment about what the woman had said when Amy finally emerged. Her eyes glanced through the diner for a second before she saw me. She smiled and nodded. I returned the gestures and gave her a wink as she made her way towards me.

…..

**Amy's P.O.V**

The next day went on as normal. Jackson was at the diner when I went down for breakfast so we enjoyed our morning meal together before I went to work. I worked at the dry cleaners until five and then went to the grocery store to pick up some things I needed for tonight's dinner. I was excited and nervous for tonight.

There was a side of me that couldn't wait to see Jackson again. He always made me smile and laugh. There was just something about him that seemed comforting to me. Then there was the logical side of me that reminded me this stupid little crush I was developing didn't mean anything. The fact that he was so charming didn't help me in that element.

Even if a relationship could work between us, Jackson was only in L.A until he was finished with whatever it was his job was having him do. I still didn't have any idea what his occupation was. I was going to ask him tonight when he came for dinner.

…

"Mi-mi," my cute little 1 ½ year old niece exclaimed as she saw me. I had only been home for a few minutes when my sister-in-law, Angie, and her daughter showed up. Angie was taking some night classes and her normal babysitter wasn't available so she asked me to babysit for a couple of hours. I didn't mind babysitting but I still needed to prepare dinner for when Jackson came over. Hopefully he wouldn't mind sharing our dinner plans with a toddler.

"Hey Annabelle." I greeted as the little toddler ran up to me with a smile. I returned the smile and lifted her up.

"Thanks so much Amy. I promise I'll pick her up around 8." Angie stressed, putting Annabelle's diaper bag on the counter.

Angie threw her wavy blonde hair over her shoulder as she looked at the mirror I had hanging in the front room. Her blue eyes studied every inch of her flawless face before she looked back to me. I felt so embarrassed and ugly as I looked at her. I had already gained about 5 pounds and I was just barely into the second trimester of my pregnancy. She didn't look like she had, had a baby.

"No problem. Miss Annabelle here will give me some great practice for my own little one, huh." I remarked, as my niece started to gnaw at my wedding ring. I wasn't sure why she liked to chew on that so much but it was cute.

"I still can't believe you didn't tell me you're pregnant sooner but I'm happy for you. At least Matthew gave you a kid before he died." Angie replied with some attitude. She wasn't a mean person but she made it obvious she was offended by my choosing to keep my pregnancy a secret until I was out of the first trimester. I didn't understand why she was offended but that was her choice. I had other things to worry about.

"Yes, at least I have the baby." I answered to her while my stomach turned a bit.

"Well I better get going, I'll see you soon." Angie said giving her daughter a quick hug and leaving my apartment.

J**ackson's P.O.V **

'_Well, let's see what Mrs. McCoy has going on this evening.'_ I thought as I made my way up the stairs to her apartment. My hand held a plastic bag with the part I needed to fix Amy's faucet.

"I know I can't believe she didn't tell anyone she's pregnant until now. I mean, how can she expect anyone to help her if she's not telling us anything? She's…." I heard a blonde haired, Barbie replica say as she passed me.

I wasn't too impressed about the tad bit I heard the woman say but she wasn't my priority. I knew Amy liked me and I needed to focus on building our friendship. Once at Amy's wooden door I knocked. A few minutes later Amy opened the door.

"Hey!" she greeted me with a smile. I returned the smile as I turned on the charm.

"Hi. I have the part you needed." I told her lifting up the bag. She smiled and nodded for me to come in. I winked at her as I glided into her apartment. I was only a couple steps into the apartment when I saw toddler aged kid watching what looked like Sesame Street on the TV.

'_Well this isn't going to be as much fun as I hoped.'_ I thought disappointed. I was hoping to get more time alone with Amy. Maybe get her to tell me why she married her husband at such a young age, find out what hobbies she had besides dancing or even just get more of an insight of her mind. I was to play the part of a good friend for the time being but I was sure I could get her to like me in a more romantic way after a while.

"Who's the kid?" I asked motioned towards the child.

"Yeah about that, I hope you don't mind. My sister-in-law is taking some night classes and asked me to watch Annabelle tonight while she's in class. I guess her normal babysitter had something come up. I didn't know I'd be babysitting until after we made our dinner plans." Amy explained.

"That's fine. I should get busy with your sink." I told her. She smiled and walked with me into her kitchen.

"I hope garlic chicken sounds alright to you." Amy said as I started to work on her faucet.

"It sounds good to me. " I continued to the conversation.

"I'm afraid its not the home cooked meal I promised you. I got it from a bag out of the freezer isle. I didn't think I'd have time to make anything else where Annabelle was coming over." She confessed. I glanced over at her and smirked.

"I'm just glad you invited me over to dinner. I get tired of eating out all the time." I told her.

"I bet. Thanks for coming over. I find it hard to cook for only myself. It seems easier to cook for two people, for some reason." She went on as she stirred through the food she had on the frying pan. I went to answer her when the little girl ran into the kitchen. She looked at me bashfully and ran over to Amy.

"Mi-mi…Mi-mi…" the child said as she started to get into Amy's drawers, taking out the pots and pans that had sat there.

"Mi-mi?" I questioned looking over to Amy for a second before looking back at the faucet.

"I think it's her way of saying Amy. She's only 1 ½ so she's still learning to talk." Amy explained. I nodded, that made sense. After about 15 minutes I had managed to replace the part that had been leaking.

"Well I think this is done, is there anything else I can help with?" I questioned, as Amy finished setting the table.

"I think all there is to do now is eat." Amy answered with a smile. I smirked as Amy put her niece in a portable high chair. We talked a bit while we ate, well while I ate. Amy was focused on trying to feed her niece. Feeding a toddler didn't look easy and based from all the food on the floor it was quite a messy ordeal.

It was different sitting at an actual dinner table. I didn't have a permanent residence because of my job. I was also used to eating out. If anyone looked in on this scene and didn't know the circumstances that were unfolding, I'm sure we would look like any normal family.

"Thanks again for fixing that for me. I'm happy to have a faucet that doesn't leak." Amy thanked me as she glanced over to me.

"Not at all; thank you for the delicious meal." I responded.

"It was no problem."

Once dinner was over, I helped Amy put the dishes and other utensils in the sink.

"Just leave them there, I'll clean them later." Amy instructed.

"Are you sure? I don't mind helping." I told her.

"It's fine. I promise." She said as she nodded to the front room. I shot her a smile and followed her. We sat on the couch and talked while the little girl watched Sesame Street. Amy was starting to open up with me more. We talked about Matthew a bit and then about their wedding.

"So did you two have a song?" I asked her, remembering back to some of the pictures in the wedding album I had stolen from Amy's apartment.

"What do you mean?" she questioned.

"Don't most couples have a song?" I inquired.

"Oh, you mean a love song. Yeah, the first time we went dancing they played a song called, _Everytime We Touch_ Maggie Reilly's version. It kind of stuck with us. We danced to it at our wedding." She answered, smiling softly. I went to respond when there was a knock at the door.

"That must be Angie." Amy said before getting off of the couch. Once she opened the door, I saw the Barbie replica I had seen earlier come into the apartment. The conversation I had heard her having earlier must have been about Amy.

"Mama!" the toddler happily shouted as she ran over to the woman. I sat there watching the scene before me.

"How did Annabelle, do?" Angie asked Amy.

"She did well." Amy answered handing the woman a diaper bag. It was then the woman spotted me.

"Hello…?" she said to me before looking back at Amy. Amy followed her gaze to me.

"Ah, Angie, this is Jackson. He's the friend, I was telling you about last night." Amy introduced me. I stood up and walked over to the women.

"Nice to meet you." I greeted her. Angie nodded at me and turned back to Amy.

"Well I guess we'll be going. I'll call you later, ok." Angie told Amy before she and her daughter left. Finally we were alone.

"Sorry if that was a little awkward." Amy said turning back to me.

"It wasn't bad. Don't worry about it." I told her. Now I had her full attention and could hopefully get more information about her.

"Oh, how much do I owe you for that part you bought?" she asked me going over to her purse.

"You fed me dinner, I think we're even." I stated.

"Are you sure? I don't mind paying you for it."

"It's fine. Come one let's talk more." I told her nodding over to the couch.

"Ok." She agreed, giving me a small smile. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Can I ask why all the names in your family start with "a"? Is it a tradition or something?"

**Amy's P.O.V**

I was surprised by Jackson's question but nodded.

"It's something my parents started. My father was Andrew and my mother was Anna. They decided it would be cute to name their kids with "a" names. So they named their son Angus and me Amy. Then Angus married Angie and they decided to keep that tradition going with Annabelle. Anna being my mother's name and Belle being Angie's mother's name. Pretty weird huh?" I informed him. I thought it was a cute tradition but I had no intention to continue it.

"Not at all; it's different and unique." Jackson smiled. I returned the smile. Jeeze, I sure seem to smile a lot when he was around. Why was he affecting me this way?

"Will you continue the tradition?" Jackson inquired. I shook my head.

"No. Matthew and I talked about baby names a few years ago. We didn't agree on any but none of them started with '"a"."

"Have you thought of any names for your little one?" he asked.

"A little bit. If it's a boy I'll name him Matthew after his father so that's easy. I'm a bit torn on girl names though."

"Why is that?"

"Matthew loved the name Olivia. I think its pretty but I like the name Mila better. If it's a girl I'm not sure which name I'll pick. I feel like I should honor what Matthew would have wanted but I'm selfish and want to use the name I like. I guess I could always use Olivia Mila." I thought out loud.

"Mila Olivia is pretty." He suggested. I thought a moment, he was right it was a pretty combination. I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. This was a conversation I should be having with Matthew not Jackson. But Matthew was gone and Jackson was here. I didn't know why he wanted to be here but I was glad he was.

"I still have time to decide but it they are pretty together." I agreed with him. My mind wandered a bit to the "what if's" I had managed to avoid since Jackson had shown up.

"Are you alright?" Jackson asked after we sat there in silence for a moment.

"Yeah, I'm just sentimental. I can't believe Matthew is really gone." I answered. We sat in silence for another moment when Jackson started to speak.

"If there's anything I can do to help you, I hope you'll let me know. I do want to help." He offered. I found myself smiling yet again. I wished he wasn't so nice and caring. I felt like I was cheating on my husband because of my crush on Jackson. That was silly of course but still.

"Well I'm working on cleaning out Matthew's office right now. I'm going to go looking for a crib at the end of the week though. If you know anything about that, you're welcome to join me." I suggested, doubting he would want to go baby shopping with me.

"I'm sure I could help you find something of good quality." Jackson answered. I was surprised but nodded.

"Thank you." I said.

"No problem." He replied. I wished I understood him better. I didn't know anything about him but he seemed familiar to me. It seemed like Jackson came out of the blue and was trying to take on the role Matthew should be playing in mine and the baby's life. I wanted to know why he cared but was too afraid to ask him.

"So what do you do for a living?" I asked hoping to get to know him and maybe his intentions better.

"I'm a manager…" he started to say when my phone went off. I held up my finger for a moment as I saw it was Angie calling.

"It's Angie. I should answer it or she'll think you murdered me or something." I told him.

"Why would she think that?" he asked me.

"I don't know she's a bit paranoid." I answered him before answering the phone.

"Hey Angie, hold on a minute ok." I said into the device.

"I should probably get going. I'll see you in a few days?" he asked. I nodded and with that he left with another heart melting smile and wink. Why was I so attracted to this guy?

…

The time passed by quickly and now it was the day before my 20 week ultrasound. I was so excited; I couldn't wait to find out if I was having a boy or girl. Jackson was constantly coming to the dry cleaning shop or stopping by my apartment. It got to the point I just started making extra food so we could have dinner together almost every night. I couldn't believe how long he had stayed around. I couldn't help but wonder what he was a manager for but every time I had asked him something would come up before he could answer.

The friendship Jackson and I had, had grown and I was very fond of him. I trusted him more than I did anyone else in my life at this point. I didn't know how he managed to have such great timing. He was always around whenever I needed him. He was a great friend. I hoped I was returning the favor by making him dinner and other small things. I felt like it didn't matter what I did for him; I could never repay him for his kindness and help.

Jackson had stopped by my apartment again just as I had finished dinner. I gladly welcomed him in. I was wanting to ask him something. He had already done so much for me and I was a bit nervous about this but decided it couldn't hurt to ask.

Once we were happily sitting at the kitchen table and munching on our food I decided to just ask him.

"So, I hope this isn't too awkward or inappropriate but tomorrow is my 20 week ultrasound. I should be finding out the baby's gender tomorrow. I was wondering if you would come with me?" I nervously asked.

"I wouldn't mind going with you but shouldn't your grandmother or Angie go?" he questioned.

"I invited Angie but she said she was getting her nails done and my grandmother isn't too interested in the pregnancy. She told me my child is just proof that she's getting old. It's alright if you don't want to go, it would just be nice to have someone there I could celebrate with." I explained. Jackson thought a moment.

"They're going to think I'm the father." Jackson commented, smirking slightly.

"You don't have to go if you're uncomfortable." I answered. I didn't want him to feel like he had to go.

"No I'll go but that doesn't change the fact they are going to think I'm the father."

"Well what will you say if they ask you?" I questioned, noticing that twinkle in his eye, he got when he was joking around.

"I will put my arm around you and proudly say 'Yes I am'." He teased as his smirk grew into a smile. I laughed and shook my head.

"You are such a goofy guy." I stated taking a sip of my apple juice. We continued to talk and laugh until I felt a little flutter coming from my stomach. I stopped a moment as I concentrated on it.

"Are you alright?" Jackson asked me, noticing I was suddenly serious. My smile quickly grew as I instinctively grabbed his hand and put it to my stomach just as a small jolt was felt.

"The baby is moving." I told him. I paused a moment realizing what I had done but Jackson didn't seemed phased by it. He smiled as we felt the baby move around. This was such a tender moment; I wished Matthew could be here to experience it.

"That was amazing. Thank you for sharing that with me." Jackson said after the baby stopped moving around.

"Thank you for caring enough to be here with me. I really do appreciate it." I told him in all sincerity. His hand grabbed mine and gave it a soft squeeze.

"What time is the ultrasound? I'll pick you and drive you if you don't mind." Jackson suggested.

"That would be really great actually. It's at 10:30 so we should probably plan to leave here around 10." I answered.

"What do you say we go dancing tomorrow night? That would be a fun little celebration." He questioned. I wasn't sure who told him I liked to dance but he had been asking me to go dancing with him for a couple of months now. I loved to dance but that was something Matthew and I had enjoyed doing. I wasn't sure if I was ready for a new dance partner.

"Ok, we can go dancing." I agreed. Tomorrow was going to be such a fun and exciting day. I couldn't wait.

…

"Amy McCoy." I heard my name being called out. Jackson and I had arrived for my ultrasound around 10:15 and it was now 11:15. They were running a bit late and I was anxious to find out what I would be having. Jackson's hand lightly touched mine before he grasped it. Our fingers laced together until we came to the room the ultrasound would take place in.

"There's a chair right for you Mr. McCoy, Mrs. McCoy, if you would lie down we can get started." The ultrasound tech told us. I turned to Jackson, being reminded of what he had said last night. He gave me a proud smile and winked at me. He was right, the tech thought we were married and that Jackson was Matthew. Jackson didn't seem to mind though; in fact it looked like he was having fun with this. He was such a strange man.

About ten minutes into the ultrasound the tech asked if I wanted to know the baby's gender.

"Yes, if you can tell." I answered her. It was so amazing to be able to see my baby. I couldn't wait to meet him/her.

"You are having a baby boy." The tech smiled, before she congratulated me.

"You should be one proud papa, your son looks strong and healthy." The tech said, now turning to Jackson. Jackson nodded and looked down to me. He gave me another one of his winks. I smiled and shook my head. He wasn't the father but he seemed to be having fun letting the tech think he was. Who does that?

Once the ultrasound was over Jackson walked me to the dry cleaners and then left to do whatever he did as a manager.

…..

**Jackson's P.O.V**

After Amy's ultrasound and I had walked her to work, I spent the rest of the day keeping my distance from her. When she was finished with work, I followed her home. I sat in the little bar across from her apartment, watching her get ready for our date tonight. She was such a pretty young thing. There were still a few things that had to happen before she was truly mine but I was getting close. I could see her feeling for me in her eyes.

I enjoyed being a part of Amy's life, as strange as that sounds. I never allowed myself to get emotionally involved with anyone but with her it seemed a little harder. Amy was starting to include me in her life the way the father of her baby should be included. I had never had that experience before and it was starting to affect me for some reason.

Regardless of my own feelings, the only way she would survive this ordeal is if I could leave her peacefully with that file. It would hurt her but that was better than her getting killed. I couldn't allow my feelings for her to change. That would give Rip or anyone else leverage over me and would make Amy and her son targets. I didn't want that for them.

Around 6:30 I noticed something was off. Amy had been so energetic but now she looked tired as she sat on her couch. She seemed to be concentrating on something. I was supposed to pick her up in a half hour but from the looks of her, something was going on. After about 5 minutes Amy stood up and made her way to her bathroom. When I could see her through her window again she was talking on the phone. She had a concerned look on her face. After a few minutes of that she hung up the phone. Within 30 seconds of hanging up with the other person, she had called my number. I quickly took out my cell phone and answered it.

"Jackson." I said into the device.

"Hey, its me." Amy said. There was a worry tone in her voice.

"Hey, are you ready to go dancing?" I asked her.

"I would love to go dancing but I think I'm going to have to cancel. I hate to ask but do you think you could give me a ride back to the hospital? Something's going on with the pregnancy and my doctor wants me to meet him at the hospital."

"I'll be right there." I told her quickly hanging up the phone. She had seemed fine earlier and whatever was going on was fast acting. I quickly made my way up the stairs to Amy's apartment. The tech said everything had looked fine, what could be wrong with the pregnancy now?


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **_Here is chapte**r **6. I hope you will enjoy it. Please review if you like it. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thank you!-Lin_

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**Jackson's P.O.V (continued)**

"So what's happening?" I asked Amy, while I drove her to the hospital. She looked nervous but was calm.

"Well, I started having some cramping while I was at work. Figuring it was just Braxton hicks, I shrugged it off. The contractions, Braxton hicks, whatever they are, started getting more intense and closer together about an hour ago. The doctor wants me to come in and have an NST done. He's worried about preterm labor. I know my mother had problems with it. I don't know if genetics is a part of it but he just wants to make sure everything is alright." She explained. "I'm sorry, tonight was supposed to be fun."

"Let's not worry about that right now. I think our priority needs to be the baby and keeping the pregnancy healthy." I said trying to send her a reassuring had made it clear during my last phone call with him that I was responsible for Amy's and her son's well being until her brother returned. If anything happened to either of them, I could be in the doghouse with my boss and could possibly be stripped of my managerial status. That was one of the last things I wanted.

When I first met Amy, she had done a good job resisting my charm. The last few months I knew I was making some progress with her. I hadn't realized just how much progress I was making until she asked me to go to her ultrasound. There was a relieved look in her eye when I told her I would go. That's when I realized her feelings for me were changing and I was closer to my goal than what I thought I was.

Once at the hospital, I was told to wait in the waiting room, while they got Amy hooked up to whatever machines she needed to be on. I waited for about 10 minutes before I was told I could join Amy in her room. I watched as the nurse finished taking Amy's blood pressure after telling her, her blood pressure was a little high and that she would watch the contractions for a half hour and then call her doctor. Amy thanked the nurse and with that we were left alone in the small hospital room.

"Thanks for giving me a ride over here." Amy said, giving me a small, sad, smile.

"It was no problem. I'm glad I could help." I told her.

"You know if you want, you can still go dancing. You don't have to stay here with me." She suggested. I couldn't tell if she wanted me to leave or if she was just trying to be nice. One thing I had learned about Amy is as strong as she tried to be; she was self-conscious and seemed to always second guess herself. She did her best to be logical and she had reminded me several times that I didn't have to do anything for her. I had watched her take care of herself quite well. I mostly just talked to her when I was with her and did small things that could help her out. I still hadn't learned everything about her but I still had time to find out and if Amy was as honest as she seemed to be, she wouldn't want to start a relationship if she still had some secrets.

"I think I'd be too busy worrying about you and that baby if I left. If it's alright with you, I'd like to stay here and keep you company." I told her, hoping she'd let me hang out here while she waited to find out what was happening.

"If you want to stay, it's alright with me. I think I'll be alright though, you don't have to worry." She stated.

"I think I'll stay. Someone needs to keep you company." I commented as I sat on her bed, facing her. "You never did tell me exactly how your husband won you over, care to tell me that story while we wait?" I questioned.

"Why do you want to know?" Amy questioned.

"Maybe it could give me a few pointers." I answered. She let out a small chuckle.

"I don't think you need pointers. You're charming enough as it is." She informed me. "It's a bit of a childish story. Of course, we were only teenagers when it happened so it would be juvenile. I was in my junior year of high school, Matthew was a senior, and our school was getting ready for prom. I was asked to go by a guy named Gary. I didn't know him very well but he was the only one who had asked me so I said yes.

"I was excited and got a dress, I thought was drop dead gorgeous. Did the whole hair and makeup thing and was ready to go. Well Gary stood me up and at the last minute Matthew's date canceled so he asked me to go with him. I decided it was better than staying home and moping all night, so I went to prom with him.

"I had only known him as my brother's dorky friend so I was pleasantly surprised to find out he was quite the gentleman. He held the door open for me, made me laugh and was very easy to talk to. Then when he got me out to the dance floor, I was in heaven. He could dance and I mean actually ballroom dance, not just that penguin waltz everyone seemed to be doing.

"Then when that song I told you about yesterday, _Everytime We Touch_, came on he started singing along, not well but he tried. I know its super cheesy but I started to really like him after that. The day after prom he called me and asked me to go out with him. We dated a few months when he took me dancing again. Once again that song came on and he kissed me. We dated a year when he was told he was being deployed.

"Christmas Eve, he told me he had a surprise for me and took me out to Wendy's since it was the fanciest place he could afford. I was happily eating my cheeseburger when Matthew told me that he was being deployed in towards the end of May. He asked me if I would wait for him. Being young and stary-eyed in love with him, I told him I would. He gave me a smile and pulled a small wrapped box from his pocket. He told me I was getting my Christmas present early and handed me the box. As I'm sure you've guessed, there was this small silver banded ring." Amy said holding out her hand so I could see the small band. I had seen the band several times. I was waiting for her to take her wedding ring off before I made my next move on her. I needed her to feel like she could move on with her life and a sign of that would be when she took her wedding ring off. Once that happened I could make her mine for the short time we had left together.

"He asked me to marry him and I obviously said yes. I think if I hadn't been seventeen and still in high school we would have eloped to Vegas that night but that wouldn't have been a good idea that situation. When we told our families we were engaged they thought I was pregnant and were furious. After we had managed to convince them I wasn't pregnant, my dad made us promise we wouldn't get married until I was eighteen and graduated from high school. So we got married the day after graduation. I think I already told you that part though." She said nodding to me.

"You did." I reminded her. She gave me another soft smile before looking away. Her emotions were starting to get to her. A tear fell from her eye and she continued their love story.

"After we got married, we rented that little two bedroom apartment I still live in. We were married only a few weeks before he left for Iraq and then I was alone for a year. I saw my parents every now and then but I wanted to be independent and worked at McDonalds for the summer. Then classes started and I had to juggle working and school. I'm so glad I kept myself busy otherwise I would have gone crazy.

"It wasn't until he had left the first time when I realized exactly how much Matthew loved me. I found a lot of little notes all over the apartment. He had written me reasons why he loved me or telling me to have an awesome day. Occasionally, he'd send me flowers or some dumb and unoriginal thing like that but it kept me going.

"Then when he came home, we were dirt poor, both in college and I think we ate nothing but ramen noodles for a couple of months but he would always wake me up with a kiss and then telling me he loved me. I know its sound cliché and cheesy but he was the perfect man…for me at least. Everyday he'd find a new way to make me fall in love with him even more." Amy's voice cracked as some more tears fell from her eyes. She cried for a couple minutes before she managed to stop the tears.

"I'm sorry, it must seem so silly to you." She commented turning her attention to me. The love they had shared, at least on her part, seemed to be genuine; something not often found these days.

'_Well, she's not taking that ring off anytime soon.'_ I thought. Even with the progress I was making with her, she was still in love with Matthew. Yesterday and this morning I seemed to be making some good progress with her now it felt like I was still only in the "friend"s category. This girl seemed bi-polar with how much she was going back and forth. I had to change to help her move on with her life so I could somewhat dominate her but how? At least she was answering my questions Rip didn't have in her file.

"Not at all. I mean it is a little cheesy but it seems like you were really happy with him." I observed. She nodded in agreement.

"Those were the happiest and hardest six years of my life. Now it's all gone…" she trailed. "He's not coming home with Angus this time." She finished. We sat in silence for a minute while I tried to figure out what I could say to comfort her.

"Well that's enough about me; let's talk about you for a change." Amy suddenly said, trying to change the subject.

"What do you want to know?" I questioned. She went to answer when the nurse came into the room.

"Well, Mrs. McCoy it looks like the contractions are dying down. Dr. Lyman wanted me to check your blood pressure again and see if that's looking any better, then I think you can go home." The nurse told Amy, before taking her blood pressure again. "It's still a little on the high side but not dangerous. I'll give Dr. Lyman a quick call and see what he wants to do but I'm pretty sure he'll send you home." And with that the nurse left.

"Well, I'm relieved. I can't lose this baby. He's all I have left." Amy sighed in relief as she placed her hand on her stomach. Instinctively I put my hand on top of hers. I could feel her little one kick for a second before my eyes met hers again.

"I'm glad that everything is alright." I stated.

"Thank you for staying." She said.

"It was no problem. Thank you for telling me about you and your husband, I…." I started to say when the nurse came back in.

"Mrs. McCoy, Dr. Lyman says you can go home but he does want to see you in his office tomorrow to check up on that blood pressure and make sure things are still going alright." The nurse informed us. Amy nodded and thanked the woman.

20 minutes later we were back at Amy's apartment.

"Thanks again for your help tonight." Amy thanked me.

"It was no problem. Maybe we could go dancing tomorrow night?" I suggested.

"Sure. That would be great." She answered. "Have a good night."

"You too. I'll see you tomorrow." I said before I left. I need a new strategy. I had to help Amy feel like she didn't have to dwell in the grave with her husband. I needed to help her feel like she could move on with her life so I could manipulate her into becoming mine. I wasn't sure if that would be easy or not considering how much she went back and forth. I could tell she wanted to move on but something was holding her back. Was it the ghost of her dead husband or was something else going on?

…..

**Amy's P.O.V**

After Jackson left I quietly closed the door and walked into my bedroom. After I was ready for the night I laid wide awake on the bed. Feelings of guilt engulfed me as they always did this time of night. Between my son's constant moving and the guilt I was going to have a long night. I wanted to move on but I couldn't. I told to tell Jackson my secret first. My hand rested on my stomach.

"I wish I knew who your father was." I whispered to my unborn child. I knew what I wanted but I was afraid to move on. Jackson was a good man but even a good man may not be understanding of this "little" secret I was keeping.


End file.
